Plant List Week 04

Question 1

Answer 1

Callistemon spp.

Common: Bottlebrush

Family: Myrtaceae

Look For:

• colorful flowers that grow in whorls around the stem,
  and
• flowers that consist mostly of stamens.

Question 2

Answer 2

Eucalyptus camaldulensis

Common: Red Gum

Family: Red Gum

Look For:

• slender, gray-green leaves that can be straight or curved,
• bark that falls off to show a smooth trunk mottled in shades of white, gray, and black,
• flowers that are white or yellow,
  and
• seed pods with 4 teeth that project outwards.

Question 3

Answer 3

Eucalyptus melliodora

Common: Yellow Box

Family: Myrtaceae

Look For:

• provides good firewood, strong timber, and high-quality honey
• bark is variable, but usually yellow-brown, sub-fibrous, and friable
• flowers profusely throughout the summer

Question 4

Answer 4

Eucalyptus polyanthemos

Common: Silver-Dollar Gum, Red Box

Family: Myrtaceae

Look For:

• medium-sized tree
• juvenile leaves are almost circular, notched at apex, and blue-gray to silver
• flowers in spring and summer

Question 5

Answer 5

Eucalyptus sideroxylon

Common: Red Ironbark

Family: Myrtaceae

Look For:

• a eucalyptus with a single, fairly straight trunk,
• hard, black bark with deep vertical grooves,
  and
• foliage that is gray-green with splotches of red and purple.

Question 6

Answer 6

Eucalyptus viminalis

Common: Ribbon Gum

Family: Myrtaceae

Look For:

• grows very fast and very large
• has a “stocking” of rough bark at the base, and then a smooth trunk above
• often has ribbons of dead bark hanging from branch forks
• branches are very pendulous and hang downwards (“viminalis” means “weeping”)
• the most common food for koalas (although they eat other plants too)

Question 7

Answer 7

Leptospermum laevigatum

Common: Australian Tea Tree

Family: Myrtaceae

Look For:

• a shrub or small tree with gray-green foliage,
• new stems that are red and sparsely hairy,
• small, obovate leaves with three main veins and a pointed tip,
  and
• (for a very brief period) white flowers with 5 petals and a well-developed hypanthium.

Question 8

Answer 8

Myrtus communis

Common: Myrtle

Family: Myrtaceae

Look For:

• Opposite shiny leaves with little or no petiole that taper to a sharp point.
• Blooms in early summer. Flowers are white with many showy stamens.
• Produces a dark blue fruit in the fall.

Question 9

Answer 9

Brahea armata

Common: Mexican Blue Palm

Family: Arecaeae

Look For:

• a fan palm with distinctive gray-blue foliage,
  and
• a petiole that’s armored with short, highly variable thorns.

Question 10

Answer 10

Caryota mitis

Common: Fishtail Palm

Family: Arecaceae

Look For:

• large, arching leaves,
• flat, wedge-shaped leaflets with parallel veins and a jagged edge,
  and
• a trunk that’s covered with a sandy, brown grit.

Question 11

Answer 11

Chamaerops humilis

Common: Mediterranean Fan Palm

Family: Arecaceae

Look For:

• one or more trunks growing to about 10 ft high,
• fan-shaped green leaves,
• petiole stumps that come straight out from the trunk without crossing,
  and
• needle-like spines on the petiole that point out toward the leaf tips.

Question 12

Answer 12

Pheonix dactylifera

Common: Date Palm

Family: Arecaceae

Look For:

• a tall palm with a single vertical trunk,
• large green leaves that appear at the top of the trunk,
• pinnatifid leaf margins (meaning the leaves are lobed pinnately),
  and
• leaf portions that end in very sharp spikes.

Question 13

Answer 13

Trachycarpus fortunei

Common: Windmill Palm

Family: Arecaceae

Look For:

• a shorter palm with a trunk that tends to be narrow at the base
• trunk has a thick carpet of “gorilla fur”
• petiole has little or no armor

Question 14

Answer 14

Washingtonia filifera

Common: California Fan Palm

Family: Arecaceae

Look For:

• A palm tree with large, palmately lobed leaves,
• a single wide, vertical, and very thick trunk,
  and
• a canopy of green leaves that spreads fairly wide (for a palm tree).

Question 15

Answer 15

Washingtonis rubusta

Common: Mexican Fan Palm

Family: Arecaceae

Look For:

• a very tall fan-leaved palm tree,
• a single skinny trunk that can be slightly curved,
  and
• a small, spherical canopy of leaves with short petioles.

Question 16

Answer 16

Sequoiadendron giganteum

Common: Giant Sequoia

Family: Taxodiaceae

Look For:

• an evergreen tree with gray-green foliage,
  and
• small, pointed, scale-like leaves arranged spirally around the stem.

Question 17

Answer 17

Aptenia ‘Red Apple’

Common: Heart-leaf Iceplant

Family: Aizoaceae

Look For:

• opposite, fleshy leaves with a pointed tip,
• stems that are semicircular in cross-section,
• a spreading or trailing growth pattern,
  and
• small, bright red flowers with many narrow petals.

Question 18

Answer 18

Carpobrotus edulis

Common: Freeway Ice Plant

Family: Aizoaceae

Look For:

• a low mat of dense vegetation,
• fleshy leaves (6-10 cm long) that are sharply triangular in cross-section,
  and
• large flowers (8-10 cm in diameter) that start out yellow and gradually turn pink.

Question 19

Answer 19

Delopserma cooperi

Common: Hardy Ice plant

Family: Aizoaceae

Look For:

• linear leaves, triangular to round in cross-section, up to 6 cm long,
• lines of tiny gray-green bumps (papillae) on the foliage,
  and
• showy purple flowers up to 5 cm in diameter.

Question 20

Answer 20

Lampranthus spectabilis

Common: Purple Flowered Iceplant

Family: Aizoaceae

Look For:

• a sprawling or trailing succulent groundcover,
• stems that are purple and leaves that are gray-green,
  and
• flowers that are large, colorful, and… purple.

Question 21

Answer 21

Campsis radicans

Common: Common Trumpet Vine

Family: Bignoniaceae

Look For:

• bright reddish-orange, trumpet-shaped flowers,
• opposite, odd-pinnately compound leaves,
• large, coarse serrations on the leaflet margins,
  and
• aerial roots along the stem that allow the plant to attach itself to any rough or porous surface as it climbs.

Question 22

Answer 22

Clytostoma callistegioides

Common Violet Trumpet Vine

Family: Bignoniaceae

Look For:

• a climbing vine,
• opposite, compound leaves, each consisting of two elliptic leaflets and a long, twisting tendril,
  and
• showy, violet-and-white, trumpet-shaped flowers that often appear in pairs.

Question 23

Answer 23

Jacaranda mimosifolia

Common: Jacaranda

Family: Bignoniaceae

Look For:

• long, bipinnately compound leaves,
• flattened, round, “silver dollar” fruits that start green and dry to brown,
  and
• (if you’re lucky enough to see this tree at the right time) a beautiful display of bright purple flowers.

Question 24

Answer 24

Macfadyena unguis-cati

Common: Yellow Trumpet Vine

Family: Bignoniaceae

Look For:

• a climbing vine with large, tubular yellow flowers,
• elongated green seed capsules that dry to brown and split apart to release papery samaras,
• composite leaves consists of two shiny leaflets with a tendril between them,
  and
• tendrils ending in three very sharp hooks, like the claws of a cat.

Question 25

Answer 25

**Ferocatctus spp.** ## Footnote Common: Barrel Cactus Family: Cactaceae Look For: - a barrel-shaped cactus. (What else is there to say?)

Question 26

Answer 26

**Opuntia basilaris var. treleasei** ## Footnote Common: Bakersfield Cactus Family: Cactaceae Look For: - a low-growing cactus (usually 6 to 12 inches high and 1 to 6 feet wide), - flattened, obovate pads (stems), - areoles with both spines and glochids, and - showy flowers with a pink to magenta perianth, many magenta-red filaments, a white or pink style, and a white stigma.

Question 27

Answer 27

**Opuntia ficus-indica** ## Footnote Common: Prickly Pear, Indian Fig Family: Cactaceae Look For: - a tall cactus with flattened pads, - dull, gray-green foliage (when mature), and - yellow-orange flowers in late spring.

Question 28

Answer 28

**Schlumbergera truncata** ## Footnote Common: Crab Cactus Family: Cactaceae Look For: - an epiphytic cactus - leaves are flattened and look like the claws of a crab

Question 29

Answer 29

**Cistus ladanifer** ## Footnote Common: Crimson Spot Rock Rose Family: Cistaceae Look For: - showy flowers with 5 white petals, each of which has a crimson spot at the base, and - opposite leaves with smooth margins.

Question 30

Answer 30

**Cistus purpureus** ## Footnote Common: Orchid Rockrose Family: Cistaceae Look For: - flowers have pink petals with a red spot at each petal base - leaves are simple, opposite, dark green above, and gray beneath

Question 31

Answer 31

**Crassula ovata** ## Footnote Common: Jade Plant Family: Crassulaceae Look For: - thick fleshy leaves the color of jade, and - a woody trunk with a color and consistency not unlike an elongated potato.

Question 32

Answer 32

**Kalanchoe blossfeldiana** ## Footnote Common: Flaming Katie Family: Crassulaceae Look For: - wide, waxy leaves that are dark green and faintly red-edged, - leaf margins that are smooth or slightly lobed, and - small red, white, or pink flowers.

Question 33

Answer 33

**Sedum acre** ## Footnote Common: Gold Moss Sedum Family: Crassulaceae Look For: - a succulent ground cover, - light green leaves about one centimeter long, and - clustered yellow flowers appearing in late spring to early summer.

Question 34

Answer 34

**Sedum morganianum** ## Footnote Common: Donkey Tail Family: Crassulaceae Look For: - a pendulous plant with gray-green foliage, - fleshy, cylindrical leaves with tips that point toward the end of the stem, and - bright red flowers (if you're lucky enough to see it in bloom).

Question 35

Answer 35

**Bletilla striata** ## Footnote Common: Chinese Ground Orchid Family: Orchidaceae Look For: - 3 to 6 eliptic, basal leaves with prominent parallel veins, and - (in the springtime) purple flowers with showy ruffles.